Pistons hire former Toronto head coach Dwane Casey

Dwane Casey led the Raptors to a franchise-record 59 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference this season.

Photo: Tony Dejak / Associated Press

DETROIT — Dwane Casey did not stay out of the NBA for long.

A month after being fired by the Toronto Raptors, Casey agreed to a five-year deal to become head coach of the Detroit Pistons.

Casey led Toronto to a franchise-record 59 wins this year and helped it earn the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time. Shortly after the Raptors were swept by the Cavaliers in the playoffs, the NBA Coach of the Year finalist was fired with one year remaining on a three-year, $18 million extension. He was 320-238 in seven seasons and is Toronto’s winningest coach.

The Pistons said Casey already has started work, including meetings with players, and will be introduced at a news conference next week.

“Dwane is one of the most successful and highly respected coaches in our league,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said. “He’s a great communicator and a leader who will connect with our players and accelerate their growth. Having spent many hours with Dwane over the last few weeks, I’m confident he is the right person to get us to the next level.”

Detroit has been looking for a head coach for more than month since firing Stan Van Gundy, who was also its president of basketball operations. Michigan head coach John Beilein was a finalist for the job before withdrawing his name from consideration last week and San Antonio assistant Ime Udoka also was a candidate.

The Pistons have made the playoffs only once in nine years after advancing at least to the Eastern Conference finals six straight years, winning the 2004 NBA title and falling a victory short of repeating as champions in 2005. They do not appear to have much flexibility to make significant changes this offseason.

“I’m confident that this team has the pieces in place to compete at a very high level,” Casey said. “There is a lot of talent, a solid core and some exciting young players eager to get better. We’re getting to work right away on the things that will make us all successful.”

The Pistons are still looking to hire a general manager.

Casey is getting his third shot to lead an NBA team. He also coached Minnesota over two seasons, with a 53-69 record.